(edited)8 games in, 4.5-game division lead…

[FireChans]

7 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Of course they do but does that make anything that Eball said less true?

Yes.

 

33 minutes ago, FireChans said:

It’s always interesting to look at how the season progresses when various teams are pumped up (Fish)

The Dolphins weren't pumped up as contenders for the division even if their QB got hurt. (this is eball's quote).

 

If the Bills lost Josh Allen for a considerable amount of time, we would have been right in the thick of it for the division and the pundits would have looked "correct" but not really.

 

Same thing with the oddsmakers.

 

Now, I think they went too far and I said that this offseason. We have the best QB by a lot and the best coach by a lot in the division. We had a front row seat to how that goes in the AFCE when it comes to cruising to division titles.

 

We've been there before, when it looked like the Pats' star was fading and they were gettable.

 

 

So yeah, does it surprise me the Jets and Dolphins fans felt like @eball in 2012?  Nope. Does it surprise me that they were equally wrong? No.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

The patriots aren’t beating anyone. They might be the worst coached team in the nfl. We also have our hands full this week. 1 at a time never know. And Tua coming back. They are going to get a few

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

7 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Of course they do but does that make anything that Eball said less true?

 

we played Miami, with Tua, and destroyed them (and him).  if Tua had played the last 4, they would still be in the hunt, but wouldn’t change the fact that we continue to OWN them. 
 

We’ve been the class of the AFCE for 4 years running.  This year doesn’t look any different than years past…. Despite the fact that many in the media and some sports books had someone other than us as division champs when the season kicked off.

 

I think the challenge for them is they just finished up on the easier parts of their schedule.  Still have Buffalo, Houston, GB on the road.  Cleveland and the jets on the road in december and january is not good for their speed type offense.  49ers too.  I just don't see them winning enough of those games to make it out of the hole they dug.  

 

Phillips being gone is a killer, Chubb coming off a late season ACL (we all kinda saw how von looked in similar scenario).  Their defense has played well so far in limiting yards but i think schedule and game flow has had an effect there.  

[GunnerBill]

10 minutes ago, chongli said:

I am a homer, but I did expect this...Jets wills always Jet, and Miami likes to lay eggs (plus Tua's unfortunate injury history). The same with New England's dominant run in the AFC East. People expected them to finally fall, but they never really did, until TB left.

 

We are also third in the AFC playoff standings (should have been second, plus a 4.5 game lead in the division...if we hadn't blown the game to Houston...again).

 

 

I expected the Dolphins to take a step back and they have. Even when Tua was healthy the loss of the cheat motion was going to affect their offense as was losing two key starters on an already average offensive line. Plus they lost their best defensive player in free agency and changed coordinator and scheme AGAIN. Would they be 2-4 if Tua was healthy? No, maybe not. They might be 4-2 with losses to the Bills and Seahawks. But they have the harder bit of their schedule still to come: Bills, Packers, Texans, 49ers all still to play. Even if they run the table other than that 9-8 is their ceiling. 7-10 or 8-9 more likely IMO. 

 

The Jets I felt had a chance to be good but it depended on Aaron Rodgers playing at a level we haven't seen him play at since his 2021 MVP season in Green Bay. I always felt three years (in which he went from 37 to 40) passage of time and a serious achillies in the meantime made that unlikely. I had the Jets second in division before the season but right now I feel like if the Dolphins could get to 9 wins that might be more than the Jets can manage. They are capable of losing any game at any time IMO because their O is (kind interpretation) inconsistent. 

 

I always thought the Bills would only need 11 max to win the division. I'm still there. And unless Josh is hurt I think we get there possibly with a game or two to spare. 

[NewEra]

2 minutes ago, FireChans said:

Yes.

 

The Dolphins weren't pumped up as contenders for the division even if their QB got hurt. (this is eball's quote).

 

If the Bills lost Josh Allen for a considerable amount of time, we would have been right in the thick of it for the division and the pundits would have looked "correct" but not really.

 

Same thing with the oddsmakers.

 

Now, I think they went too far and I said that this offseason. We have the best QB by a lot and the best coach by a lot in the division. We had a front row seat to how that goes in the AFCE when it comes to cruising to division titles.

 

We've been there before, when it looked like the Pats' star was fading and they were gettable.

 

 

So yeah, does it surprise me the Jets and Dolphins fans felt like @eball in 2012?  Nope. Does it surprise me that they were equally wrong? No.

Or maybe you missed the Bills @ Dolphins game

 

-Tua is still Tua- One healthy season.  A career of being injured 

 

-Josh is still Josh, never missing a game.  As durable as they come. 

-Woody Johnson still owns the Jets.  
 

everything is just as it has been since 2020.  Nothings changed 

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, Sweats said:

This is the year to put it all together and make a SB run, re-tooling, re-building the roster, no matter.

It looks like KC, Ravens, Houston and maybe the Steelers are our only test for the AFC and i would put our roster up against any of them.

 

See I wouldn't our roster up against any of those except Pittsburgh. I think the other three all have better rosters than us. Can the Bills beat any of them if they are on their game and it all comes together? Sure. But I think they have more talent.

[zow2]

Those last 3 games. Sit everybody.  The only chance we have is to be healthy for the playoffs.

[bills6969]

I wouldn’t count out the Fish just yet.  They get Tua back next week, then we play them in two weeks.  if we slip up in that game they’ll be right back in the picture.

[FireChans]

1 minute ago, NewEra said:

Or maybe you missed the Bills @ Dolphins game

 

-Tua is still Tua- One healthy season.  A career of being injured 

 

-Josh is still Josh, never missing a game.  As durable as they come. 

-Woody Johnson still owns the Jets.  
 

everything is just as it has been since 2020.  Nothings changed 

I didn't miss it.

 

We lost to the Dolphins week 3 a few years back and still won the division. H2H matters but it's not all that matters.

 

You are honestly acting like we wouldn't be screeching that the pundits weren't right if Josh missed 6 games and we went 2-4 lol. Naive take.

[Bruffalo]

Let's not count the chickens before they hatch. 

 

The Bills are a good team but this season they've been bipolar.  A lot of highs and more lows than we are used to on a Josh Allen team. Baffling coaching decisions in critical situations as well. 

I wouldn't bet on them to lose any of the next three, but I wouldn't be surprised if they drop one too.

[dorquemada]

lmao i love the positivity

 

Bills got lucky that this is a down year for the AFCE.  they need to stay focused and get at least 1 home playoff game

[Matt_In_NH]

By Realistic you mean super highly unlikely right?....everything goes perfect that could happen....saying that is realistic is ridonkulous

[Boatdrinks]

38 minutes ago, Rigotz said:

Why does every positive thread need to be knocked down with someone’s fears of the big bad wolf.

 

Jesus man, enjoy the ride, just a little.

 

And also, believe we can win when we play them. There’s no reason to cling to a loser’s mentality just to try to cope if/when we lose.

Just an honest discussion of what lies ahead. The Bills defense has been getting gashed for big plays in the ground game and vs the pass. Far more than in previous seasons. 

[LabattBlue]

Don’t look past Seattle.  Geno can be up and down, but great offensive talent in Walker, Metcalf, Lockett & JSN. 

[NewEra]

1 minute ago, FireChans said:

I didn't miss it.

 

We lost to the Dolphins week 3 a few years back and still won the division. H2H matters but it's not all that matters.

 

You are honestly acting like we wouldn't be screeching that the pundits weren't right if Josh missed 6 games and we went 2-4 lol. Naive take.

You’re comparing ONE game we lost 21-19 on a 90 degree day game in Miami with guys unable to play due to heat exhaustion- a game where we win if the results of 5 different plays were reversed.  All while beating them in the other TWELVE previous games.  Anyone predicting Miami over buffalo this season was stupid. It was a ridiculous take and it showed when demolished the dolphins and their predictably injured QB injured himself in week 2.  
 

Just like those predicting a team owned by woody Johnson who hired Nate Hackett to be their OC would dethrone us.  
 

 

[Sweats]

I still remember a time in the early 90's when the AFCEast was THE division in the NFL......every team in our division were full of talent and depth and beat the living **** out of each other and all were poised to make a playoff push every year.

 

And then BB and Brady came along.......

[FireChans]

2 minutes ago, NewEra said:

You’re comparing ONE game we lost 21-19 on a 90 degree day game in Miami with guys unable to play due to heat exhaustion- a game where we win if the results of 5 different plays were reversed.  All while beating them in the other TWELVE previous games.  Anyone predicting Miami over buffalo this season was stupid. It was a ridiculous take and it showed when demolished the dolphins and their predictably injured QB injured himself in week 2.  
 

Just like those predicting a team owned by woody Johnson who hired Nate Hackett to be their OC would dethrone us.  
 

 

Good thing I didn’t predict either of those things and in fact thought they were wrong, which I have said already lol

Edited October 21 by FireChans

[zow2]

Other than KC, no NFL team wins every game they're supposed to win.  And even in their Super Bowl years the Chiefs lost some head scratchers here and there.  The Bills have lost to non respected NFL QBs like Zach Wilson and Mac Jones on multiple occasions.  So i guess my point is, anything can happen.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

Tua’s coming back so Miami will get a little tougher.  Seattle ain’t a slouch either so we’ve got some work to do to get to 8-2 

[TFBillsfan]

It’s a week to week league and I’m not counting anything in advance. The Bills are still figuring things out at times and need to stay healthy. Playing at Seattle in a hostile environment won’t be easy and the Bills can’t afford to sleep walk thru an entire half if they expect to win.